Northwest Argentina Destinations

While much of Argentina's tangled and tumultuous history is shrouded by the vagaries of time, there remains plenty of concrete evidence of Argentina's past for the traveler to see. Some highlights are: La Cueva de las Manos (The Cave of the Hands), a Patagonian site of prehistoric paintings dating to over nine thousand years ago; the colonial Jesuit architecture of the Córdoba area; and 19th century Pampas towns like San Antonio de Areco where gaucho culture is still proudly celebrated. And of course there's the Casa Rosada, Argentina's "pink" presidential palace in Buenos Aires, where Evita Peron's passionate speeches electrified the masses. But for the history buff who also loves to travel, Argentina's northwest is the place to see.

Northwestern Argentina was the entry point not only for the original human inhabitants of the country, but for successive waves of invaders, including the Incas and later the Spanish. And the fact that the region has been largely bypassed by modern development means that its historical wealth has remained largely intact. In the colonial city of Salta, founded in 1582, stands some of the most impressive Spanish architecture in Argentina. The ruins of the ancient hillside town of Quilmes is arguably Argentina's most important archeological site. Once an integral part of the route from Buenos Aires to Peru, the Quebrada de Humahuaca is a beautiful gorge containing some charming historic towns and hundreds of archeological curiosities.